


Things We Don’t Like to Think About

by blank_space_ace



Series: The Kespar Files [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Backstory, Character Study, How does the force work, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, My First AO3 Post, Not beta read we die like clones, Order 66 Aftermath (Star Wars), Past Character Death, Planet Carlac (Star Wars), Post-Order 66 (Star Wars), Star Wars Galactic Empire Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27871014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blank_space_ace/pseuds/blank_space_ace
Summary: Delra Kespar, a young Jedi Knight, has been hiding in the Outer Rim ever since he escaped Coruscant during Order 66. Several long months later, he runs into some unexpected old friends
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The Kespar Files [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066514
Kudos: 2





	Things We Don’t Like to Think About

**Author's Note:**

> An "prequel" to a WIP that is not actually published right now.
> 
> Delra is a recurring OC of mine. He’s been used for a lot of different fandoms, and I’ve been throwing him headfirst into random universes for about a year now. Hope you enjoy!

Delra Kespar is— no, _was_ — a Jedi.

After losing his old master on Mandalore during Order 66, Delra stole a Fang-class fighter and fled to Carlac- a frigid, sparsely-populated planet in the Outer Rim. 

It wasn’t hard for the knight to find somewhere to settle; there were abandoned outposts everywhere, and many were completely isolated from the small villages of Carlac’s native people. He didn’t enjoy the solitude, but at least he could sleep soundly at night knowing that the snow-covered planet was far beyond the Republic’s control. Could he even call it that anymore? _The Republic_.... it wasn’t really The Republic now. Del’s radio—as scuffed as it was— had been functional enough for him to learn about the clone army’s forceful takeover of the Inner Rim Territories.

The ping of an incoming transmission pierced the silence of Delra’s quarters for the first time in months. At first, he was convinced that it was just a malfunction; Del hadn’t dared to venture out to Carlac’s larger settlements for spare parts, so there hadn’t been any way for him to replace the badly damaged comm unit in the Fang fighter. It took him several minutes longer to realize that the unit he had heard wasn’t the one on his fighter— it was his own; the handheld one he had used back during the Clone Wars. The moment his thoughts clicked together, he rushed to his quarters and started digging fervently through his few possessions. 

Delra sat on the edge of his bed for fifteen minutes, the comm clasped tightly in his hands as he desperately waited for another transmission to come through. When the speaker pinged again, he accepted the live message without a second thought.

“…ca-- -nyone hear m-e-ee?” A man’s voice was barely breaking through the static. “-sh-- p is b-a—” 

Delra lowered the comm as the rest of the man’s words were drowned out by static. Here he was, hoping to learn something useful for a change, and all he had gotten was some static and garbled nonsense. He flopped backwards onto his tattered mattress with a loud sigh.

 _“Haar’chak!”_ Delra shouted the Mando’a curse at the ceiling. If his master had been here, they would’ve scolded him for not controlling his emotions. The whole “fear leads to anger” speech was as engrained in his mind as it was in all other padawans. He glanced at the comm link lying next to him and sighed again. It wasn’t worth getting upset over; he could be patient for once in his life. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. There was a greenhouse to tend to, and repairs had to be made to the outpost’s heating system. He reached for the comm unit, and jumped when the static returned. This time, the man’s voice was clear enough to be heard.

“—un,” the man dictated. It sounded like he had been repeating the message. “Our ship has sustained heavy damage, and we have injured crewmates who require immediate attention. Can anyone hear me?”

There were a few brief seconds of silence before the man began to repeat his message once again.

“This is Captain Cara of _The B_ _roken Sun_.” 

Delra froze, tuning out the rest of the message as he tried to make sense of the situation. A sick, twisting discomfort grew in his stomach as he realized that knew both of those names. Delra had spent countless nights trying to forget them as he went to sleep, but the painful memories that accompanied those names were still fresh in his mind.

Cara… his name was really _Ka’ra_ — stars, because the galaxy never failed to amaze him—but the name quickly became “Cara” after spending time around the Jedi and his brothers; a change that wasn’t uncommon among Mando’a nicknames. His piloting had saved Delra’s life more times than the knight could remember.

The other name, _The Broken Sun_ , had belonged to one of Delra's fighters during the Clone Wars. Delra and a few clones from the Mynock Squadron had been in a shuttle called _“Supernova”_ when it crash-landed on a mountainous planet. He had barely managed to save them by severely overexerting his ability to use the Force, but it paid off when the mechanic, Gears, declared that they would be able to salvage the vessel with a few days of work. They had started naming gunships and starfighters after the shuttle as a joke, but it quickly grew to be a tradition of sorts.

Delra winced, squeezing his eyes shut as if that would make things any easier. He didn’t want to trust Cara and whoever else was on that ship. He still saw the limp body of his master in nightmares; their robes and armor still riddled with holes from the clones’ blasters…. It was a horrifying sight, and one that always left him wide awake in the dead of night.

Then again, why would they be out this far? Carlac was distant even by Outer Rim standards, and had barely been affected at all by the Clone Wars. The Grand Army of the Republic—or what was left of it, anyway—would have its sights set on consuming as many Inner and Mid-Rim territories as possible in the confusion. They simply wouldn’t have the manpower to reach out this far so soon. The most Cara and his men could be doing right now was scouting, and they sure as hell wouldn’t have made themselves known to any potential targets.

Delra stared at the response button as it flashed white on the comm unit in his palm. He could either answer it and hope for the best, or leave the men he had fought beside to die in the cold vacuum of space. Neither choice was good, no doubt about it, but time was running out for him to make his decision. If men really did need his help, waiting any longer could kill them.

_“It’s now or never.”_ He thought. And then he pushed the button.

“…. Captain Cara, this… is _Helios_. My ship is currently grounded on the planet, but I will be able to assist you. Over,” Delra said quickly. He grabbed his lightsaber and flight helmet from his quarters and raced towards the small hangar where his fighter was parked.

“Our coordinates are -----,-------,-----. The transport is trailing smoke, so it should be easy to identify. Over.” Cara responded almost immediately, catching Delra off guard when he started to input the coordinates into the Fang fighter’s nav system.

“Copy that.”

The engines of Delra’s fighter hummed as it rolled out from the hangar. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then kicked _Helios_ into gear and lifted off. Carlac somehow looked even more deserted as he ascended; the outpost he lived in vanishing from sight long before he left the planet's atmosphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that I actually have a basis for the challenge piece, I won't be working on this specific fic until after the 20th of December. I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
